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Article: Christian perspectives on the human body.
- Article from:
- Theological Studies
- Article date:
- June 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Theological Studies, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The subject of the human body has appeared recently in debates concerning both the beginning and the end of human life. In order to determine the question of the personhood of the unborn, ethicists ask when it is that a human embryo becomes a body that can be informed by a soul.(1) Despite disagreement about when the embryo actually does become a human body, all agree nowadays, just as medieval writers did, that the condition for ensoulment is the presence of a true human body.(2) Concerning the end of life, ethicists, having debated the respect due to dead human bodies,(3) now ask whether human beings enjoy proprietary rights over their body parts.(4)
These ...